Bach Cantata No.4 Christ lag in Todes Banden BWV 4 (Full Score)

Scoring: Soli SATB, Coro SATB, [Ctto, 3 Trb], 2 Vl, 2 Va, Bc

The surviving parts of the cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden (Christ lay in death’s cold prison) BWV 4.2 were used in a performance on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1725. Presumably this performance was an emergency solution, because the cycle of chorale cantatas from the years 1724/25 breaks off abruptly shortly before Easter 1725. As a chorale cantata, BWV 4 was of course ideally suited to fill this gap, even though this chorale cantata without recitatives follows a different (older) model. For a long time it was assumed that the work had been performed in Leipzig as early as Easter Sunday (April 1) 1724, but this is now regarded as doubtful. Although no pre-Leipzig sources have survived, the style of the cantata in fact points to a much earlier period, possibly Mühlhausen in 1707/08. Unlike the chorale cantatas of 1724/25, BWV 4 does not employ newly-written texts. All the movements are based on verses of the chorale by Martin Luther, whose timeless text is perhaps one reason why this powerful Easter cantata remains one of Bach's most popular vocal works today.

작곡가 Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)